IRVINE, Calif. – The PacWest Conference announced this morning that the Hawaii Pacific University women's basketball team earned their first Team of the Week Honors. Graduate Abby Spurgin's name was on the weekly list again with her fourth PacWest honor of the season, but this time coming as Defender of the Week.
 
HPU hosted three home conference games last week, where they finished 2-1. Their only loss came in overtime, 92-90, against number one in the conference Concordia University Irvine.
 
The Sharks, unable to capitalize on the opportunity, still learned a lot and took that momentum into their matchup with Point Loma, where the defense took hold early, not allowing a bucket for six minutes to start the game. It was all HPU needed for an emphatic 70-41 wire-to-wire win and the largest margin of victory this season.
 
With their third game of the week rolling around, the Shark Tank welcomed the Academy of Art, where the Shark defense stood stout again, holding the Urban Knights to 52 points. HPU improved to third place at 5-1 in the conference, with CUI (8-1) and Azusa Pacific (7-1) holding down the one and two spots, respectively.
 
The defense being a point of emphasis this week for the Sharks had Spurgin playing a significant role in it, with 13 blocks and 35 rebounds, including a record-tying six blocks against the Academy of Art.
 
Spurgin, who ranks number one in the country in scoring (25.1), has also climbed her way into the number four spot in the nation in blocks per game (2.64). She was also recently named to the NCAA DII All-Stats Starting Five team for December.
 
The Sharks look to continue their hot start to the conference with two more home games this week, beginning with Dominican on Wednesday and Biola on Saturday. Wednesday's time is set for 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m.